Registers of Scotland Digital Regulations 2018 approved by Parliament

Published: 12 March 2018

New regulations come into force today (Monday 12 March) that signal a further step forward towards Registers of Scotland (RoS) becoming a fully digital business by 2020.

“The Registers of Scotland (Digital Registration etc.)(Scotland) Regulations 2018 have been approved by Parliament and made by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and fair Work, Keith Brown MSP. The regulations will facilitate the introduction of new digital services by RoS, and also provide for a presumption in favour of the use of these digital channels.

The regulations also remove the existing land registration application form from the Land Register Rules. RoS is making several improvements to our land register application form in line with the new regulations. The changes are specifically designed to reduce rejections and increase efficiency in this important process. The new application form will go live on 21 March.

Key amongst the improvements will be the removal of a signature requirement on the application form. Current figures show that a significant number of applications are rejected because the form hasn’t been signed, and the improved form has been designed with a view to removing this stumbling block.

“We are committed to the delivery of user-focused, digital public services, which are wide-ranging and easily accessible. We have taken on-board feedback from our stakeholders and customers and found strong support for our move towards digital registration services.

“We know that rejections are frustrating for our customers so we are pleased to be able to remove the signature requirement from the application form, which will go some way towards addressing this problem. We will continue to listen to feedback, in order to ensure that we are delivering the best possible land registration services.”

Notes to editors

The regulations give effect to proposals set out in Registers of Scotland’s consultation “Digital Transformation: Next Steps” which set out detailed proposals for changes to the Land Registration Rules to facilitate the introduction of new digital registration services, including a fully digital transfer of title service. The reaction to that consultation was very positive. Respondents expressed strong support for the proposal to streamline and simplify the existing paper registration services and we hope that it will prove as popular as our Digital Discharge Service, which was launched last year, and has already reduced the processing time for dealing with applications for discharges.